


The Hanging Moon

by Pale Rider (Boothros)



Category: The Professionals
Genre: HIV/AIDS, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 23:45:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6399088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boothros/pseuds/Pale%20Rider
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired after watching the sadness and beauty that was a BBC aired series depicting the horror of the way HIV (and homosexuality) was treated and viewed in the early 1980s. This is a work of reactive fiction and meant in no way to insult or upset any reader. Possible triggering material, pleased be warned, thankyou.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hanging Moon

_A harsh breath is expelled_.

  
“It was positive.”

  
“No! No no, Ray it can’t have been. You said it was just a cold, you said …”

  
“Don’t be a prat, Bodie, it’s why I got tested again, you KNOW that. You should get tested yourself, now.”

  
“We’ve always been safe.”

  
“Nothing’s always safe, Bodie.”

  
“They could be wrong though …”

  
“They’re not, you know they’re not, Bodie. Get tested.”

  
“NO! We always had each other’s backs.”

  
“It’s because I had a few other backs that it came to this.”

  
“You weren’t to know, none of us knew!”

  
“Well I fuckin’ know now, don’t I!”

  
_A harsh bark of laughter pierces the air._

  
“Ray! It’s nothing to laugh about, we need to talk about this!”

  
“Oh come on, Bodie it’s just bloody hilarious! I spent nearly eight years mostly dodging other people’s bullets. In the end, I ended up fucking shooting myself!”

  
_Silence ensues for a moment_.

  
“What happens now? Ray?”

  
_Silence_

  
“Ray?”

  
“Oh Christ you KNOW what happens now, Bodie.”

  
“No, no not on your own. We’ve always done everything together from the first moment we met.”

  
“Now what the hell are you talking about?”

  
“Us. It’s getting chilly out here, let’s go in. Let’s go to bed. Let’s shut out the world and let’s make love with nothing between us for once?”

  
“Did I really just hear you say something that bloody stupid?”

  
“I’ve got nothing to lose except you, Ray. You hurt, I hurt. We’ve always shared everything.”

  
_Stunned silence_

  
“You’re talking like a cunt, Bodie.”

  
“It couldn’t hurt more than losing you will. You don’t deserve to go through this alone.”

  
“But I can’t take the responsibility …”

  
“It’s my choice. It’s the only thing we’ve never done.”

  
“It could be the death of you!”

  
“You were always gonna be the death of me anyway, Ray Doyle. You know I won’t live without you. We share. We’ve always shared.”

  
_The large moon looms low in the sky. A hanging moon some would call it. A tear escapes, the first of thousands._

  
“You’re a fool, Bodie.”

  
“Nothing between us, Ray. Not anymore.”

  
“Oh we’ll be sharing something soon enough if you insist on going through with this.”

  
“It’s my choice. We’ve lived together, we’ll die together.”

  
_Disbelief turns to resignation. Hands link together and as one, they turn to the door._

**Author's Note:**

> The series I watched was called 'Don't Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves', a Swedish film with English subtitles. It will be especially poignant to those who well remember the 1980's but is an important piece that should be viewed by everyone.


End file.
